Family owned development firm L. Milton Construction wants to build a 274-unit apartment complex in south Miami-Dade County’s Naranja neighborhood.
The proposal is for the second phase of the company’s Lanai Landings project, and marks continued development appetite for south Miami-Dade.
L. Milton proposes two nine-story buildings that will include 2,700 square feet of retail on 1.8 acres at 14550 Mable Street, according to the firm’s pre-application filed to the county last month. The Form Group-designed project would consist of 188 one-bedroom apartments and 86 two-bedroom apartments, and would also include 371 parking spots.
The development site is across Mable Street from the first phase of Lanai Landings, a two-story building with 54 units completed in 2020, according to property records.
L. Milton, founded in 1965 by Lazaro Milton, is also led by Alex and Maurice Milton, the firm’s website shows. Its projects include the nine-story, 120-unit Montecassini apartment building at 3930 Northwest Seventh Street in Miami, near Magic City Casino. In 2018, L. Milton scored an $18 million construction loan for the project and completed the building in 2020.
South Miami-Dade’s healthy supply of buildable land has drawn developers in recent years. The area consists of the municipalities of Homestead and Florida City, as well as the neighborhoods of Naranja, Leisure City, Perrine, Princeton and Goulds.
This month, Atlantic Pacific Companies proposed a 270-unit affordable housing complex that would consist of a six-story building and a seven-story building at 10060 West Evergreen Street in Perrine.
South Florida’s multifamily market has boomed over the past two years thanks to an influx of out-of-staters who drove rents to new heights. But more recently, the market has calmed, with rental growth slowing to a 3.7 percent increase in rates in February, year-over-year, according to Realtor.com.
The Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes also have delayed multifamily construction. While developers are focusing on obtaining rezonings and project entitlements, many are taking a pause before obtaining construction financing.